


Maris

by sterileflcwer



Category: Band of Brothers (TV 2001), Band of Brothers (TV 2001) RPF
Genre: Excessive mention of dirt and trying to get clean, Lots of focus on the sea, Meditations on Trauma, Mentions of War, Other, Religion, Sequel to Wind and Rain, death mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:13:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29360073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sterileflcwer/pseuds/sterileflcwer
Summary: “ With the salty wind and sand that covered every single surface, it felt impossible to clean now too. Of course, he could hardly mind the grime that lined the posts of the porch that his calloused hands desperately clung onto. The wind and rain were biting. The weatherman had said the evening before that the day was supposed to be warm. How wrong he was.”
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 1





	Maris

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dolls! Here’s a short story I wrote for class! It is kind of a continuation of Wind and Rain, just more focusing on Winters. :)

The sea was tumultuous, seeming to be at war with itself. Whenever there seemed to be a small break in the chaos, it would soon begin to throw itself once again. Most of the ships that had planned to go out that day had decided against it, lining the docks that dotted the shoreline. Many people had retreated inside to play card games or listen to the radio or such. With how hard the rain was coming down, it was surprising for Richard to see the lone figure trudging down the beach. He would watch them for some moments, as they desperately fought against the wind and rain. Oftentimes, they would soon bow to the will of the wind and retreat the way the wind told them too.   
Much of Richard’s life had been colored by moments like this, of course. Standing perfectly alone in a world of tumult with no one there beside him. His father had died when he was young, so he was expected to be the man of the house. Even though he was hardly a teenager, he was expected to pick up every responsibility that had formerly belonged to his father. Helping run the farm, help take care of the finances, make sure that no one starved. Before his father got ill and then died, most of his responsibilities on the farm had been confined to feeding the animals, milking the cows, doing some of the herding work. But once he had become the man, expected to care for his mother and sister. He would rise in the early hours of the morning, when the world was still covered by the blanket of night, to do his duties on his farm. Then, he would march down the rough and rutted roads to school. Oftentimes, he would keep his head down, trying to go unnoticed by his peers that would speed past him on bikes. Of course, that was quite the hard task for him. A long and willowy boy with a shock of red hair, he easily stood apart from his peers. He used to stand in front of the mirror for hours, pulling at his hair. Though he had slowly grown to accept it, it had once been the bane of his existence. Then, he had hit his growth spurt and grown a head taller than the other boys in his class.   
All of that was long gone now, though. It had been over a decade since he had been that willowy boy tracing the backroads of his home town. Just about his sixteenth birthday, his mother had gotten remarried. Though rather distanced from his step-father, Richard liked the quiet man that had somehow entranced his mother. If he made his mother happy, then he made Richard happy. And that was good enough. His step-father was a dentist that originally hailed from a neighboring town who was able to help on the farm when he wasn’t at his dentistry office. He was also able to help put Richard through college. Of course, he didn’t want to go too far from home in fear of not being able to get back when his family needed him. So, he applied to the college in his hometown. He would use the old truck to drive to the campus and his job during the day before returning in the evening.  
The world had begun to drastically change by that point. Though many of his memories bled into one another due to his shell shocked mind, he could remember some of the headlines coloring those days. How these troops had marched into this land that belonged to this group, how this leader had given this inflammatory speech. Of course, Europe was an ocean away. Almost a world away in the mind of the young man that had never left his county.   
When he graduated from college, things were heating up on those ever so distant shores. He decided to join the Army. Though, not out of any patriotic longing to defend his nation from enemies he would never know or understand. It was simply to get his required year of service out of the way. But, in that year, the serenity that Americans had long felt was shot wide open in front of the eyes of the world. They were now at war with those distant and unknowable enemies.  
In hopes of avoiding the worst of the action, Richard went on to become an officer. That way, he could perhaps work in the back offices of the Army or train the recruits that would be sent to foreign lands with foreign tongues. Though he became an officer, he was hardly spared from seeing the horrors of the war. He was still a young man, and yet he had seen the worst of man in so many ways. He watched helplessly as his men died, soon to be forgotten about as the company got replacements and marched from place to place.   
In those days, it felt as though he could never get clean. He had cleaned himself obsessively back home. The church he had been raised in equating uncleanliness to being a sin. Was he a sinner? Every night, he would silently pray for hours and do everything he could to remove the dirt from underneath his fingernails. But it was never enough. It was never enough to remove everything that he experienced.   
With the salty wind and sand that covered every single surface, it felt impossible to clean now too. Of course, he could hardly mind the grime that lined the posts of the porch that his calloused hands desperately clung onto. The wind and rain were biting. The weatherman had said the evening before that the day was supposed to be warm. How wrong he was. Before he had left his wife waiting in the small living room of the home, he had grabbed a thin jacket to try and shield himself. Despite the extra layer, he was still freezing. When his hands left the posts, he wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to keep from feeling as though he would turn into ice. Still, his hands and neck and face were exposed. It felt like knives cutting into his skin.   
The wind continued to howl in his ears, sounding like bullets being burst from their mothers. Despite being years and seas away from his time in Europe, it felt as though he was in the midst of battle once more. Richard had always been self-assured in the things he wanted in his life, though it could be due to hubris. His plan after the war was to return home and work to make a better and calmer life. And yet, here he was, freezing in the middle of July. How could he be sure of anything at this point? The world had been torn wide open in front of his eyes. Yet, he was expected to do what had been done for generations. Settle down with a wife, buy a home, work a good job, have children, and then pass away peacefully. But, he would never have that chance. He would continue to fight throughout his life. Fight against the memories of flames consuming every inch with there being nowhere for him to run.  
In the midst of his trance, as the sea wrestled with itself as Richard wrestled with himself, he was tenderly guided inside. The door to the porch was shut, refusing to allow the cutting wind inside. He sat in the hall, a soft voice coaxing him out of his trance as it had done so many times prior.


End file.
